Half The Water
by PLP20005
Summary: What if Piper Mclean had a secret during the seven's quest? What if her secret was that she was a mermaid? She hasn't told anyone about this secret. When she is attacked, she is forced to reveal her tail. Will she be forgiven? PJ and H2O crossover.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Everything belongs to Rick Riordan

Chapter 1:

Piper's POV

Finding the place was easy. Percy lead us right to it, on an abandoned stretch of hillside overlooking the ruined Forum.

Getting in was easy too. Jason's gold sword cut through the padlock, and the metal gate creaked open. No mortals saw us.

"I'll go first," Jason said.

"No!" I yelped.

Both boys turned toward me.

"Pipes, what is it?" Jason asked. "That image in the blade . . . you've seen it before, haven't you?"

I nodded, my eyes stinging. "I didn't know how to tell you. I saw the room down there filling with water. I saw the three of us drowning."

Not only am I scared of losing Jason and Percy, I don't want anyone to find out about my secret.

Jason and Percy frowned. Jason gave me a look of sympathy. He thinks i'm scared of water. If only I could tell him the truth.

"I can't drown," Percy said, though he sounded like he was asking a question.

"Maybe the future has changed," Jason speculated. "In the image you shoued us just now, there wasn't any water."

I wished he was right, but i suspected they wouldn't be so lucky.

 _Especially me._ I thought to myself.

"Look," Percy said. "I'll check it out first. It's fine. Be right back."

Before I could object, he disappeared down the stairwell.

I counted silently as we waited for him to come around thirty-five, I heard his footsteps, and he appeared at the top, looking more baffled than relieved.

"Good news: no water," he said. "Bad news: I don't see any exit exits down there. And, uh, weird news: well, you should see this."

We cautiously descended. Percy took the lead, with Riptide drawn. I followed, and Jason walked behind me, guarding our backs. The stairwell was a cramped corkscrew of masonry, no more than six feet in diameter. Even though Percy had given the "all clear," I kept my eyes open for traps. . . and water. With every turn of the stairs, I anticipated an ambush. I had no weapon, just the cornucopia on a leather cord over my shoulder. If worse came to worst, the boys' swords wouldn't do much good in such closed quarters. Maybe I could shoot our enemies with high-velocity smoked hams.

As we wound our way underground, I saw old graffiti gouged into the stones: Roman numerals, names, and phrases in Italian. That meant other people had been down here more recently than the Roman Empire, but I wasn't reassured. Especially after remembering the water in the image. If monsters were below, they'd ignore mortals, waiting for some nice juicy demigods to come along.

Finally, we reached the bottom.

Percy turned. "Watch your step."

 _Well you don't have to tell me twice._ I thought to myself.

He jumped to the floor of the cylindrical room, which was five feet lower than the stairwell. Why would someone design a set of stairs like that? I had no idea. Maybe the room and the stairwell had been built during different time periods.

I wanted to turn and exit, but I couldn't do that with Jason behind me, and I couldn't just leave Percy down here. I clambered down, and Jason followed.

The room was just like I'd seen it in Katoptris's blade, except there was no water. The curved walls had once been painted with frescoes, which were now faded to eggshell white with only flecks of color. The domed ceiling was about fifty feet above.

Around the back side of the room, opposite the stairwell, nine alcoves were carved into the wall. Each niche was about five feet off the floor and big enough for a human-sized statue, but each was empty.

The air felt cold and dry. A Percy had said, there were no other exits.

"All right." Percy raised his eyebrows. "Here's the weird part. Watch."

He stepped to the middle of the room.

Instantly, green and blue lights rippled across the walls. I heard the sound of a fountain, which made me jump unnoticeably, but there was no water. There didn't seem to be any source of light except for Percy and Jason's blades.

"Do you smell the ocean?" Percy asked.

I hadn't noticed at first. I was standing next to Percy, and he always smelled like the sea. But he was right. The scent of salt water and storm was getting stronger, like a summer hurricane approaching. This made me very nervous, I'm not ready to reveal my secret yet! I'm guessing that Jason sensed my distress because he grabbed my hand, gave it a squeeze, and let go.

"An illusion?" I asked, hoping it was and illusion. All of a sudden, I felt strangely thirsty. I can't get thirsty, I'm a mermaid! My stress levels were probably off the chart.

"I don't know," Percy said. "I feel like there should be water here-lot of water. But there isn't any. I've never been in a place like this."

Nice going Percy, way to make me feel better.

Jason moved to the front row of niches. He touched the bottom shelf of the nearest one, which was just at his eye level. "This stone . . . it's embedded with seashells. This is a nymphaeum."

My mouth was definitely getting dryer. "A what?"

"We have one at Camp Jupiter," Jason said, "on Temple Hill. It's a shrine to the nymphs."

I ran my hand along the bottom of another niche. Jason was right. The alcove was studded with cowries, conches, and scallops. The seashells seemed to dance in the watery light. They were ice-cold to the touch. Oh how I miss the ocean, where I can be all alone and swim with the fish and dolphins.

I had always thought of nymphs as friendly spirits-silly and flirtatious, generally harmless. They got along well with the children of Aphrodite. They loved to share gossip and beauty tips. This place, though, didn't feel like the canoe lake back at Camp Half-Blood, or the streams in the woods where I normally met nymphs. This place felt unnatural, hostile, and _very_ dry.

Jason stepped back and examined the row of alcoves. "Shrines like this were all over the place in Ancient Rome. Rich people had them outside their villas to honor nymphs, to make sure the local water was always fresh. Some shrines were built around natural springs, but most were man-made."

"So. . . no natural nymphs lived here?" I asked hopefully.

"Not sure," Jason said. "This place where we're standing would have been a pool with a fountain. A lot of times, if the nymphaeum belonged to a demigod, he or she would invite nymphs to live there. If the spirits took up residence, that was considered good luck."

This is making me really nervous.

"For the owner," Percy guessed. "But it would also bind the nymphs to a new water source, which would be great if the fountain was in a nice sunny park with fresh water pumped in through the aqueducts-"

"But this place has been underground for centuries," I guessed. "Dry and buried. What would happen to the nymphs?" I hope this place _stays_ dry and buried.

The sound of water changed to a chorus of hissing, like ghostly snakes. The rippling light shifted from sea blue and green to purple and sickly lime. Above us, the nine niches glowed. They were no longer empty.

Standing in each was a withered old woman, so dried up and brittle they reminded me of mummies-except mummies don't normally move. Their eyes were dark purple, as if the clear blue water of their life source had condensed and thickened inside them. Their fine silk dresses were now tattered and faded. Their hair had once been piled in curls, arranged with jewels in the style of Roman noblewomen, but now their looks were disheveled and dry as straw. If water cannibals actually existed, I thought, this is what they looked like.

" _What would happen to the nymphs?"_ said the creature in the center niche.

She was in even worse shape than the others. Her back was hunched like the handle of a pitcher. Her skeletal hands had the thinnest papery layer of skin. On her head, a battered wreath of golden laurels glinted in her roadkill hair.

She fixed her purple eyes on me. "What an interesting question, my dear. Perhaps the nymphs would still be here, suffering, waiting for revenge."

The moment she said that, I knew something bad would happen.

The next time that I got a chance, I swore that I would melt down Katoptris and sell it for scrap metal. The stupid knife never showed me the whole story. Sure, I'd seen myself drowning. But if I'd realized that nine desiccated zombie nymphs would be waiting for me, I never would've come down here.

I considered bolting for the stairs, but when I turned, the doorway had disappeared. Naturally. Nothing was there now but a blank wall. I suspected it wasn't just an illusion like I'd hoped it would be. Besides, I would never make it to the opposite side of the room before the zombie nymphs could jump on us.

Jason and Percy stood to either side of me, their swords ready. I was glad to have them close, but I suspected their weapons wouldn't do any good. I'd seen what would happen in this room. Somehow, these things were going to defeat us. It scares me. I'm not ready to tell them my secret. What would happen if Jason got angry at me? Would he leave me here? Would he break up our friendship? Would he forget about me and get together with Drew? I don't have time to think about these things right now. There are more important things at hand.

"Who are you?" Percy demanded.

The central nymph turned her head. "Ah . . . names. We once had names. I was Hagno, the first of the nine!"

I thought it was cruel that a hag like her would be named _Hagno_ , but I decided not to say that . . . for safety purposes.

"The nine," Jason repeated. "The nymphs of this shrine. They were always nine niches."

"Of course." Hagno bared her teeth in a vicious smile. "But we are the _original_ nine, Jason Grace, the ones who attended the birth of your father."

Jason's sword dipped. "You mean Jupiter? You were there when he was _born_?"

Zeus, we called him then," Hagno said. "Such a squealing whelp. We attended Rhea in her labor. When the baby arrived., we hid him so that his father, Kronos, would not eat him. Ah, he had lungs, that baby! It was all we could do to drown out the noise so Kronos could not find him. When Zeus grew up, we were promised eternal honors. But that was in the old country, in Greece."

The other nymphs wailed and clawed at their niches. They seemed to be trapped in them, I realized, as if their feet were glued to the stone along with the decorative seashells.

"When Rome rose to power, we were invited here," Hagno said. "A son of Jupiter tempted us with favors. _A new home,_ he promised. _Bigger and better! No down payment, an excellent neighborhood. Rome will last forever_."

"Forever," the others hissed.

"We gave in to temptation," Hagno said. "We left our simple wells and springs on Mount Lycaeus and moved here. For centuries, our lives were wonderful! Parties, sacrifices in our honor, new dresses and jewelry. All the demigods of Rome flirted with us and honored us."

The nymphs wailed and sighed.

"But Rome did not last," Hagno snarled. "The aqueducts were diverted. Our master's villa was abandoned and torn down. We were forgotten, buried under the earth, but we could not leave. Our life sources were bound to this place. Our old master never saw fit to release us. For centuries, we have withered here in the darkness, thirsty. . .so thirsty."

The others clawed at their throats.

Wait, this isn't supposed to be happening. I can feel my throat closing up.

"I'm sorry for you," I said, trying to use my charmspeak. "That must have been terrible. But we are not your enemies. If we can help you-"

"Oh, such a sweet voice!" Hagno cried. "Such beautiful features. I was once young like you. My voice was as soothing as a mountain stream. But do you know what happens to a nymph's mind when she is trapped in the dark, with nothing to feed on but hatred, nothing to drink but thoughts of violence? Yes, my dear. You can help us."

Well that didn't go as planned.

Percy raised his hand. "Uh . . . I'm the son of Poseidon. Maybe I can summon a new water source."

"Ha!" Hagno cried, and the other eight echoed, "Ha!Ha!"

"Indeed, son of Poseidon," Hagno said. "I know you father well. Ephialtes and Otis promised you would come."

I put my hand on Jason's arm for balance."

"The giants," I said. "You're working for them?"

"They are our neighbors." Hagno smiled. "Their chambers lie beyond this place, where the aqueduct's water was diverted for the games. Once we have dealt with

you . . . once you have _helped_ us . . . the twins have promised we will never suffer again."

Hagno turned to Jason. "You, child of Jupiter-for the horrible betrayal of your predecessor who brought us here, you shall pay. I know the sky god's powers. I raised him as a baby! Once, we nymphs controlled the rain above our wells and springs. When I am done with you, we will have that power again. And Percy Jackson, child of the sea god . . . from you, we will take water, an endless supply of water."

"Endless?" Percy's eyes darted from one nymph to the other. "Uh . . . look, I don't know about _endless_. But maybe I could spare a few gallons."

I could tell he was scared.

"And you, Piper Mclean." Hagno's purple eyes glistened. "So young, so lovely, so gifted with your sweet voice. Keeping a dark secret from those you love. From you, we reclaim our beauty. We have saved our last life force for this day. We are very thirsty. From you three, we shall drink!"

How did she know about me? I can tell that Jason is staring at me with a puzzled expression.

All nine niches glowed. The nymphs disappeared, and water poured from their alcoves-sickly dark water, like oil.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Everything belongs to Rick Riordan

Chapter 2

Piper's POV

I needed a miracle, not a bedtime story. But right then, standing in shock as black water poured in around my legs.

I _knew_ something like this was bound to happen.

I turn to Jason, "Listen Jason, I-"

"What did Hagno mean by ' _keeping a dark secret from those you love_?'" Jason asks me.

"It means exactly what it says," I answer.

Suddenly, I feel the water (if you can even call it that) touch my ankles, quickly moving up my legs and making it to my knees in a matter of seconds.

"Jason, you're going to see something that you've never seen before. But please, don't be scared," I say to him speaking very fast.

The water is up to my waist now.

"Let me search the bottom," Percy said. "If this place was built as a fountain, there _has_ to be a way to drain the thing. You guys, check for secret exits." and with that, he disappeared into the water.

Sooner than I expected, Percy broke the surface, gasping and flailing.

"Couldn't breathe," he choked. "The water . . . not normal. Hardly made it back."

 _You think?_ I thought to myself.

Suddenly, something pulls me underwater. I can faintly hear Jason and Percy calling my name. The thirty seconds are almost up.

3 . . .

2 . . .

1 . . .

I feel myself changing, turning into water for a split second, then becoming a mermaid. My lungs being refilled with air. I swim to the top, with my orange tail pushing and giving me power. My head breaks the surface.

"Piper!" I hear Jason yell with relief in his voice. "Where did you-"

He didn't get to finish the question.

Jason's POV

I saw something orange in the water, it's a tail. And it's attached to Piper. I look up at her and notice that she was no longer in a shirt, but an orange looking bikini.

"What are you?" I ask with a small voice.

"I'm a-" She pauses. "I'm a mermaid."

"Is this what Hagno was talking about? The dark secret?" I say.

"Yes," she answers, looking afraid.

"Well, why didn't you tell me?" I ask, anger filling my voice.

"I was scared of what you might think." She answers looking down.

I could tell Percy was staring at her tail with an expression that screamed ' _shocked_ '.

I hug Piper, telling her that it's okay, and that there's nothing to be afraid of. I can't believe it, Piper is a mermaid. Maybe this is why she doesn't go near water when people are around her.

I see Percy swim over to us, "How are you-"

"I'll explain later," she cuts him off.

Piper's POV

"I have an idea," I blurt out.

"What is it?" Percy asks, quickly getting over the fact that I'm a mermaid.

"Both of you think of clean water-a storm of water. Don't hold anything back. Picture all your power, all your strength leaving you."

"That's not hard!" Percy said.

"But _force_ it out!" I said. "Offer up everything, like-like you're already dead, and your only goal is to help the nymphs. It's got to be a gift . . . a sacrifice."

They got quiet at that word.

"Let's try again," Jason said. "Together."

This time I bent all my concentration toward the horn, as I had it the whole time, of plenty as well. The nymphs wanted my youth, my life, my voice? Fine. I gave it up willingly and imagined all of my power flooding out of me.

 _I'm already dead_ , I told myself, as calm as the skeleton dog. _This is the only way._

Clear water blasted from the horn with such great force, it pushed us against the wall. The raining changed to a white torrent, so clean and cold, it made me gasp.

"It's working!" Jason cried.

"Too well," Percy said. "We're filling the room even faster!"

He was right. The water rose so quickly, the roof was now only a few feet away. I could've reached up and touched the miniature rain clouds.

"Don't stop!" I said. "We have to dilute the poison until the nymphs are cleansed."

"What if they _can't_ be cleansed?" Jason asked. "They've been down here turning evil for thousands of years."

"Just don't hold back," I said. "Give everything. Even if we go under-"

My head head hit the ceiling. The rain clouds dissipated and melted. The horn of plenty kept blasting out a clean torrent.

I pulled Jason closer and kissed him.

"I love you," I say.

The words poured out of me, like the water from the cornucopia. I couldn't tell what his reaction was, because then we were underwater.

I breathed underwater (as i'm a mermaid). The current roared in my ears. Bubbles swirled around me. Light rippled through the room, and I was surprised I could see it. Was the water getting clearer?

I poured my last energy into the cornucopia. Water continued to stream out, though there was no room for more. Would walls crack under the pressure?

My vision went dark.

I thought the roar in my ears was my own dying heartbeat. Then I realized the room was shaking. The water swirled faster. I felt myself sinking.

With my last strength, I pumped my tai upward. My head broke the surface. The cornucopia stopped. The water was draining almost as fast as it had filled the room.

Wth a cry of alarm, I realized that Percy and Jason's faces were still underwater. I hoisted them up. Instantly, Percy gulped and began to trash, but Jason was as lifeless as a rag doll.

I clung to him. I yelled his name, shook him, and slapped his face. I barely noticed when all the water had drained away and left them on the damp floor.

"Jason!" I tried desperately to think. Should I turn him on his side? Slap his back?

"Piper," Percy said, "I can help."

He knelt next to me and touched Jason's forehead. Water gushed from Jason's mouth. His eyes flew wide open, and a clap of thunder threw Percy and me backward.

When my vision cleared, I saw Jason sitting up, still gasping, but the color was coming back to his face.

"Sorry," he coughed. "Didn't mean to-"

I tackled him (still in my mermaid form) with a hug. I would have kissed him, but I didn't want to suffocate him.

Percy grinned. "In case you're wondering, that was clean water in your lungs. I could make it come out with no problem."

"Thanks man." Jason clasped his hand weakly. "But I think Piper's the real hero. She saved us all."

 _Yes, she did,_ a voice echoed through the chamber.

The niches glowed. Nine figures appeared, but they were no longer withered creatures. They were young, beautiful nymphs in shimmering blue gowns, their glossy black curls pinned up with silver and gold brooches. Their eyes were gentle shades of blue and green.

As I watched, eight of the nymphs dissolved into vapor and floated upward. Only the nymph in the center remained,

"Hagno?" I asked.

The nymph smiled. "Yes, my dear. I didn't think such selflessness existed in mortals . . . especially demigods. No offense."

Percy got to his feet. "How could we take offense? You just tried to drown us and suck out our lives."

Hagno winced. "Sorry about that. I was not myself. But you have reminded me of the sun and the rain and the streams in the meadows. Percy and Jason, thanks to you, I remembered the sea and the sky. I am cleansed. But mostly, thanks to Piper. She shared something bigger even better than clear running water." Hagno turned to me. "You have a good nature, Piper. And i'm a nature spirit. I know what i'm talking about."

Hagno pointed to the other side of the room. The stairs to the surface reappeared. Directly underneath, a circular opening shimmered into existence, like a sewer pipe, just big enough to crawl through. I suspected this was how the water had drained out.

"You may return to the surface," Hagno said. "Or, if you insist, you may follow the waterway to the giants. But choose quickly, because both doors will fade soon after I am gone. That pipe connects to the old aqueduct line, which feeds both this nymphaeum and the hypogeum that the giants call home."

"Ugh." Percy pressed on his temples. "Please, no more complicated words."

"Oh, _home_ is not a complicated word." Hagno sounded completely sincere. "I thought it was, but now you have unbound us from this place. My sisters have gone to seek new homes . . . a mountain stream, perhaps, or a lake in a meadow. I will follow them. I cannot wait to see forests and grasslands again, and the clear running water."

"Uh," Percy said nervously, "things have changed above in the last few thousand years."

"Nonsense," Hagno said. "How bad could it be? Pan would not allow nature to become tainted. I can't wait to see him, in fact."

Percy looked like he wanted to say something, but he stopped himself.

"Good luck, Hagno," I said. "And thank you."

The nymph smiled one last time and vaporized.

Briefly, the nymphaeum glowed with a softer light, like a full moon. I smelled exotic spices and blooming roses. I heard distant music and happy voices talking and laughing. I guessed I was hearing hundreds of years of parties and celebrations that had been freed along with the spirits.

I quickly pulled my hand into a fist and used my heating power to dry myself off. The boys looked shocked for a moment, but got over it just as quickly.

"What is that?" Jason asked nervously (about what they were hearing and smelling).

I slipped my hand into his. "Ghosts are dancing. Come on. We'd better go meet the giants."


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Everything belongs to Rick Riordan

Chapter 3

Percy's POV

I was tired of water.

If I said that aloud, I would probably be kicked out of Poseidon's Junior Sea Scouts, but I didn't care.

After barely surviving the nymphaeum and finding out that Piper was a mermaid, I just wanted to go back to the forest. I wanted to sit in the warm sunshine for a long time-preferably with Annabeth.

Unfortunately, I didn't know where Annabeth was. Frank, Hazel, and Leo were missing in action. I still had to save Nico di Angelo, assuming the guy wasn't already dead. And there was that little matter of the giants destroying Rome, waking Gaea, and taking over the world.

Seriously, these monsters and gods were thousands of years old. Couldn't they take a few decades off and let me live my life? Apparently not.

I took lead as we crawled down the drainage pipe. After thirty feet, it opened into a wider tunnel. To our left, somewhere in the distance, I heard rumbling and creaking, like a huge machine needed oiling. I had absolutely no desire to find out what was making that sound, so I figured that must be the way to go.

Several hundred feet later, we reached a turn in the tunnel. I held up my hand, signaling Jason and Piper to wait. I peeked around the corner.

The corridor opened into a vast room with twenty-foot ceilings and rows of support columns. It looked like the same parking-garage-type area I had seen im my dreams, but now much more crowded with stuff.

The creaking and rumbling came from huge gears and pulley systems that raised and lowered sections of the floor for no apparent reason. Water flowed through the open trenches (I saw Piper back away from the water), powering water wheels that turned some of the machines. Other machines were connected to huge hamster wheels with hellhounds inside. I couldn't help thinking of Mrs. O'Leary, and how much she would hate being trapped inside one of those.

Suspended from the ceiling were cages of live animals-a lion, several zebras, a whole pack of hyenas, and even an eight-headed hydra. Ancient-looking bronze and leather conveyor belts trundled along with stacks of weapons and armor, sort of like the Amazons' warehouse in Seattle, except this place was obviously much older and not well organized.

Leo would love it, I thought. The whole room was like one massive, scary, unreliable machine.

"What is it?" Piper whispered.

I wasn't even sure how to answer. I didn't see the giants, so I gestured for my friends to come forward and take a look.

About twenty feet inside the doorway, a life-size wooden cutout of a gladiator popped up from the floor. It clicked and whirred along a conveyor belt, got hooked on a rope, and ascended through a slot in the roof.

Jason murmured, "What the heck?"

We stepped inside. I scanned the room. There were several thousand things to look at, most of them in motion, but one good aspect of being an ADHD demigod was that I was comfortable with chaos. About a hundred yards away, I spotted a raised dais with two empty oversized praetor chairs. Standing between them was a bronze jar big enough to hold a person.

"Look." I pointed it out to my friends.

Piper frowned. "That's too easy."

"Of course," I said.

"But we have no choice," Jason said. "We've got to save Nico."

"Yeah." I started across the room, picking my way around conveyor belts and moving platforms.

The hellhounds in the hamster wheels paid us no attention. They were too busy running and panting, their red eyes glowing like headlights. The animals in the other cages gave us bored looks, as of to say, _I'd kill you, but it would take too much energy._

I tried to watch out for traps, but _everything_ here looked like a trap. I remembered how many times I'd almost died in the labyrinth a few years ago. I really wished Hazel were here so she could help with her underground skills (and of course so she could be reunited with her brother).

We jumped over a water trench and ducked under a row of caged wolves. We had made it halfway to the bronze jar when the ceiling opened above us. A platform lowered. Standing on it like an actor, with one hand raised and his head high, was the purple-haired giant Ephialtes.

Just like I had seen in my dreams, the Big F was small by giant standards-about twenty feet tall-but he had tried to make up for his loud outfit. He'd changed out of the gladiator armor and was now wearing a Hawaiian shirt that even Dionysus would've found vulgar. It had a garish print made up of dying heroes, horrible tortures, and lions eating slaves in the Colosseum. The giant's hair was braided with gold and silver coins. He had a ten-foot spear strapped to his back, which wasn't a good fashion statement with the shirt. He wore bright white jeans and leather sandals on his . . . well, not feet, but curved snakeheads. The snakes flicked their tongues and writhed as if they didn't appreciate holding up the weight of a giant.

Ephialtes smiled at us like he was really, really pleased to see us.

"At last!" he bellowed. "So very happy! Honestly, I didn't think you'd make it past the nymphs, but it's so much better that you did. Much more entertaining. You're just in time for the main event!"

Jason and Piper closed ranks on either side of me. Having them made me feel a little better. This giant was smaller than a lot of monsters I had faced, but something about him made my skin crawl. Ephialtes' eyes danced with a crazy light.

"We're here," I said, which sounded kind of obvious once I had said it. "Let our friend go."

"Of course!" Ephialtes said. "Though I fear he's a bit past his expiration date. Otis, where are you?"

A stone's throw away, the floor opened, and the other giant rose on a platform.

"Otis, finally!" his brother cried with glee. "You're not dressed the same as me! You're . . ." Ephialtes' expression turned to horror. " _What are you wearing?"_

Otis looked like the world's largest, grumpiest ballet dancer. He wore a skin-tight baby-blue- leotard that I _really_ wished left more to the imagination. The toes of his massive dancing slippers were cut away so that his snaked could protrude. A diamond tiara (I decided to be generous and think of it as a king's crown) was nestled in his green, firecracker-braided hair. He looked glum and miserably uncomfortable, but he managed a dancer's bow, which couldn't have been easy with snake feet and a huge spear on his back.

"Gods and Titans!" Ephialtes yelled. "It's showtime What are you _thinking?_ "

"I didn't want to wear the gladiator outfit," Otis complained. "I still think a ballet would be perfect, you know, while Armageddon is going on." He raised his eyebrows hopefully at us. "I have some extra costumes-"

"No!" Ephialtes snapped, and for once I was in agreement.

The purple-haired giant faced me. He grinned so painfully, he looked like he was being electrocuted.

"Please excuse my brother," he said. "His stage presence is awful, and he has _no_ sense of style."

"Okay." I tried not to comment on the Hawaiian shirt. "Now, about our friend . . ."

"Oh, him," Ephialtes sneered. "We were going to let him finish dying in public, he has no entertainment value. He's spent _days_ curled up sleeping. What sort of spectacle it that? Otis, tip over the jar."

Otis trudged over to the dais, stopping occasionally to do a plie. He knocked over the jar, the lid popped off, and Nico di Angelo spilled out. The sight of his deathly pale face and too-skinny frame made my heart stop. I couldn't tell whether he was alive or dead. I wanted to rush over and check, but Ephialtes stood in my way.

"Now we have to hurry," said the Big F. "We should go through your stage directions. The hypogeum is all set!"

I was ready to slice this giant in half and get out of here, but Otis was standing over Nico. If a battle started, Nico was in no condition to defend himself. I needed to buy him some recovery time.

Jason raised his gold _gladius_. "We're not going to be part of any show," he said. "And what's a hypo-whatever-you-call-it?"

"Hypogeum!" Ephialtes said. "You're a Roman demigod, aren't you? You should know! Ah, but I suppose if we do our job right down here in the underworks, you really wouldn't know the hypogeum exists."

"I know that ord," Piper said. "It's the area under a coliseum. I housed all the set pieces and machinery used to create special effects."

Ephialtes clapped enthusiastically. "Exactly so! Are you a student of the theater, my girl?"

"Uh . . . my dad's an actor."

"Wonderful!" Ephialtes turned toward his brother. "Did you hear that, Otis?"

"Actor," Otis murmured. "Everybody's an actor. No one can dance."

"Be nice!" Ephialtes scolded. "At any w=rate, my girl, you're absolutely right, but _this_ hypogeum is much more than the stageworks for a coliseum. You've heard that in the old days some giants were imprisoned under the earth, and from time to time they would cause earthquakes when they tried to break free? Well, we've done much better! Otis and I have been imprisoned under Rome for eons, but we've kept busy building our own very hypogeum. Now we're ready to create the greatest spectacle Rome has ever seen-and the last!"

At Otis's feet, Nico shuddered. I felt like a hellhound hamster wheel somewhere in my chest started moving again. At least Nico was alive. Now they just had to defeat the giants, preferably without destroying the city of Rome, and get out of here to find their friends.

"So!" I said, hoping to keep the giants' attention on me. "Stage directions, you said?"

"Yes!" Ephialtes said. "Now, I _know_ the bounty stipulates that you and that girl Annabeth should be kept alive if possible, but honestly, the girl is already doomed, so I hope you don't mind if we deviate from the plan."

My mouth tasted like bad nymph water. "Already doomed. You don't mean she's-"

"Dead?" the giant asked. "No. Not yet. But don't worry! We've got your other friends locked up you see."

Piper made a strangled sound. "Leo, Hazel, and Frank?"

"Those are the ones," Ephialtes agreed. "So we can use _them_ for sacrifice. We can let the Athena girl die, which will please Her Ladyship. And we can use you three for the show! Gaea will be a bit disappointed, but really, this is a win-win. Your deaths will be _much_ more entertaining."

Jason snarled. "You want entertaining? I'll give you entertaining."

Piper stepped forward. Somehow she managed a sweet smile. "I've got a better idea," she told the giants. "Why don't you let us go? That would be an incredible twist. Wonderful entertainment value, and it would prove to the world how cool you are."

Nico stirred. Otis looked down at him. His snaky feet flicked their tongues at Nico's head.

"Plus!" Piper said quickly. "Plus, we could do some dance moves as we're escaping. Perhaps a ballet number!"

Otis forgot all about Nico. He lumbered over and wagged his finger a Ephialtes. "You see? That's what I've been telling you! It would be incredible!"

For a second, I thought Piper was going to pull it off. Otis looked at his brother imploringly. Ephialtes tugged at his chin as if considering the idea.

At last he shook his head. "No . . . no, I'm afraid not. ? You see, my girl, I am the anti-Dionysus. I have a reputation to uphold. Dionysus thinks he knows parties? He's wrong! His revels are tame compared to what I can do. That old stunt we pulled off, for instance, when we piled up mountains to reach Olympus-"

"I told you that would never work," Otis murmured.

"And the time my brother covered himself with meat and ran through an obstacle course of drakons-"

"You said Hephaestus-TV would show it during prime time," Otis said. "No one even _saw_ me."

"Well, this spectacle will be _even better_ ," Ephialtes promised. "The Romans always wanted bread and circuses-food and entertainment! As we destroy their city, I will offer them both. Behold, a sample!"

Something dropped from the ceiling and landed at my feet: a loaf of sandwich bread in a white plastic wrapper with red and yellow dots.

I picked it up. "Wonder bread?"

"Magnificent, isn't it?" Ephialtes' eyes danced with crazy excitement. "You can keep that loaf. I plan on distributing millions to the people of Rome as I obliterate them."

"Wonder bread is good," Otis admitted. "Though the Romans should dance for it."

I glanced over at Nico, who was just starting to move. I wanted him to be at least conscious enough to crawl out of the way when the fighting started. And I needed more information from the giants about Annabeth, and where my other friends were being kept.

"Maybe," I ventured, "you should bring our other friends here. You know, spectacular deaths . . . the more the merrier, right?"

"Hmm." Ephialtes fiddled with a button on his Hawaiian shirt. "No. It's really too late to change the choreography. But never fear. The circuses will be marvelous! Ah . . . not the _modern_ sort of circus, mind you. That would require clowns, and I hate clowns."

"Everyone hates clown," Otis said. "Even other clowns hate other clowns."

"Exactly," his brother agreed. "But we have much better entertainment planned! The three of you will die in agony, up above, where all the gods and mortals can watch. But that's just the opening ceremony! In the old days, games went on for days or weeks. Our spectacle-the destruction of Rome-will go on for one full month until Gaea awakens."

"Wait," Jason said. "One month, and Gaea wakes up?"

Ephialtes waved away the question. "Yes, yes. Something about August First being the best date to destroy all humanity. Not important! In her infinite wisdom, the Earth Mother has agreed that Rome can be destroyed first, slowly and spectacularly. It's only fitting!"

"So . . ." I couldn't believe i was talking about the end of the world with a loaf of Wonder Bread in my hand. "You're Gaea's warm-up act?"

Ephialtes' face darkened. "This is no warm-up, demigod. We'll release wild animals and monsters into the streets. Our special effects department will produce fires and earthquakes. Sinkholes and volcanoes will appear randomly out of nowhere! Ghosts will run rampant!"

"The ghost thing won't work," Otis said. "Our focus groups say it won't pull ratings."

"Doubters!" Ephialtes said. "This hypogeum can make anything work!"

Ephialtes stormed over to a big table covered with a sheet. He pulled the sheet away, revealing a collection of levers and knobs almost as complicated-looking as Leo's control panel on the _Argo II_.

"This button?" Ephialtes said. "This one will eject a dozen rabin wolves into the Forum. And this one will summon automaton gladiators to battle tourists at the Trevi Foundation. This one will cause the Tiber to flood its banks se we can reenact a naval battle right in the Piazza Navona! Percy Jackson, you should appreciate that, as a son of Poseidon!"

"Uh . . . I still think the _letting us go_ idea is better," I said.

"He's right," Piper tries again. "Otherwise we get into this whole confrontation thing. We fight you. You fight us. We wreck your plans. You know, we've defeated a lot of giants lately. I'd hate for things to get out of control!"

Ephialtes nodded thoughtfully. "You're right."

Piper blinked. "I am?"

"We can't let things get out of control," the giant agreed. "Everything has to be timed perfectly. But don't worry I've choreographed your deaths. You'll _love_ it."

Nico started to crawl away, groaning. I wanted him to move faster and groan less. I considered throwing my wonder bread at him.

Jason switched his sword hand. "And if we refuse to cooperate with your spectacle?"

"Well, you can't kill us." Ephialtes laughed, as if the idea was ridiculous. "You have no gods with you, and that's the only way you could hope to triumph. So really, it would be much more sensible to die painfully. Sorry, but the show must go on."

This giant was even worse than that sea god Phorcys back in Atlanta, I realized. Ephialtes wasn't so much the anti-Dionysus. He was Dionysus gone crazy on steroids. Sure, Dionysus was the god of revelry and out-of-control parties. But Ephialtes was all about riot and ruin for pleasure.

I looked at my friends. "I'm getting tired of this guy's shirt."

"Combat time?" Piper grabbed her horn of plenty.

"I hate Wonder Bread," Jason said.

Together, we charged.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Everything belongs to Rick Riordan

Chapter 4

Percy's POV

Things went wrong immediately. The giants vanished in twin puffs of smoke. They reappeared halfway across the room, each in a different spot. I sprinted toward Ephialtes, but slots in the floor opened under my feet, and metal walls shot up on either side, separating me from my friends.

The walls started closing in on me like the sides of a vise grip. I jumped up and grabbed the bottom of the hydra's cage. I caught a brief glimpse of Piper leaping across a hopscotch pattern of fiery pits, making her way toward Nico, who was dazed and weaponless and being stalked by a pair of leopards.

Meanwhile, Jason charged at Otis, who pulled his spear and heaved a great sigh, as if he would much rather dance _Swan Lake_ than kill another demigod.

I registered all this in a split second, but there wasn't much I could do about it. The hydra snapped at my hands. I swung and dropped, landing in a grove of painted plywood trees that sprang up from nowhere. The trees changed positions as I tried to run through them, so I slashed down the whole forest with Riptide.

"Wonderful!" Ephialtes cried. He stood at his control panel about sixty feet to my left. "We'll consider this a dress rehearsal. Shall I release the hydra onto the Spanish Steps now?"

He pulled a lever, and I glanced behind me. The cage I had just been hanging from was now rising toward a hatch in the ceiling. In three seconds it would be gone. If I attacked the giant, the hydra would ravage the city.

Cursing, I threw Riptide like a boomerang. The sword wasn't designed for that, but the Celestial bronze blade sliced through the chains suspending the hydra. The cage tumbled sideways. The door broke open, and the monster spilled out-right in front of me.

"Oh you _are_ a spoilsport, Jackson!" Ephialtes called. "Very well. Battle it here, if you must, but your death will not be nearly as good without the cheering crowds."

I stepped forward to confront the monster-then realized I'd just thrown my weapon away. A bit of bad planning on my part.

I rolled to one side as all eight hydra heads spit acid, turning the floor where I'd been standing into a steaming crater of melted stone. I really hated hydras. It was almost a good thing that I'd lost my sword, since my gut instinct would've been to slash at the heads, and a hydra simply grew two new ones for each one it lost.

The last time 'd faced a hydra, I'd been saved by a battleship with bronze cannons that blasted the monster to pieces. That strategy couldn't help me know . . . or could it?

The hydra ;ashed put. I ducked behind a giant hamster wheel and scanned the room, looking for bexes I'd seen in my dream. I remembered something about the rocket launchers.

At the dais, Piper stood guard over Nico as the leopards advanced. She aimed the cornucopia and shot a pot roast over the cats' head. It must have smelled pretty good, because the leopards raced after it.

About eighty feet to Piper's right, Jason battled Otis, sword against spear. Otis lost his diamond tiara and looked angry about it. He probably could have impaled Jason several times, but the giant insisted on doing a pirouette with every attack, which slowed him down.

Meanwhile Ephialtes laughed as he pushed buttons on his control board, cranking the conveyor belts into higher gear and opening random animal cages.

The hydra charged around the hamster wheel. I swung behind a column, grabbed a garbage bag full of Wonder bread, and threw it at the monster. The hydra spit acid, which was a mistake. The bad and wrappers dissolved in midair. The Wonder bread absorbed all the acid like the fire extinguisher foam and splattered against the hydra, covering it in a sticky, steaming layer of high-calorie poisonous goo.

As the monster reeled, shaking its head and blinking Wonder acid out of its eyes, I looked around desperately. I didn't see the rocket]=-launcher boxes, but tucked against the back wall was a strange contraption like an artist's easel, fitted with rows of missile launchers. I spotted a bazooka, a grenade launcher, a giant Roman candle, and a dozen other wicked-looking weapons. They all seemed to be wired together, pointing in the same direction and connected to a small bronze lever on the side. At the top of the easel, spelled in carnations, were the words: HAPPY DESTRUCTION, ROME!

I bolted toward the device. The hissed and charge after me.

"I know!" Ephialtes cried out happily. "We can start with explosions along the Via Labicana! We can't our audience waiting forever."

I scrambled behind the easel and turned it toward Ephialtes. I didn't have Leo's skill with machines, but I knew how to aim a weapon.

The hydra barreled toward me, blocking my view of the giant. I hoped this contraption would have enough firepower to take down two targets at once. I tugged the lever. I didn't budge.

All eight hydra heads loomed over me, ready to melt me into a pool of sludge. I tugged the lever again. This time the easel shook and the weapons began to hiss.

"Duck and cover!" I yelled, hoping my friends got the message.

I leaped to one side as the easel fired. The sound was like a fiesta in the middle of an exploding gunpowder factory. The hydra vaporized instantly. Unfortunately, the recoil knocked the easel sideways and sent more projectiles shooting all over the room. A chunk of ceiling collapsed and crushed a waterwheel. More cages snapped of their chains, unleashing two zebras and a pack of hyenas. A grenade exploded over Ephialtes' head, but i only blasted him off his feet. The control board didn't even look damaged.

Across the room, sandbags rained down on Piper and Nico. Piper tried to pull Nico to safety, but one of the bags caught her shoulder and knocked her down.

"Piper!" Jason cried. He ran toward her, completely forgetting about Otis, who aimed a spear at Jason's back.

"Look out!" I yelled.

Jason had fast reflexes. A Otis threw, Jason rolled. The point sailed over me and Jason flicked his hand, summoning a gust of wind that changed the spear's direction. It flew across the room and skewered Ephialtes through his side just as he getting to his feet.

"Otis!" Ephialtes stumbled away from his control board, clutching the spear as he began to crumble into monster dust. "Will you _please_ stop killing me!"

"Not my fault!"

Otis had barely finished speaking when my missile-launching contraption spit out one last sphere of Roman candle fire. The fiery pink ball of death (naturally it had to be pinky) hit the ceiling above Otis and exploded in a beautiful shower of light. Colorful sparks pirouetted gracefully around the giant. Then a ten-foot section of the roof collapsed and crushed him flat.

Jason ran to Piper's side. She yelped when she touched her arm. Her shoulder looked unnaturally bent, but she muttered, "Fine. I'm fine." Next to her, Nico sat up, looking around him in bewilderment as if just realizing he'd missed a battle.

Sadly, the giants weren't finished. Ephialtes was already re-forming, his head and shoulders rising from the mound of dust. He tugged his arms free a glowered at me.

Across the room, the pile of rubble shifted, and Otis busted out. His head slightly caved in. All the firecrackers in his hair had popped, and his braids were smoking. His leotard was in tatters, which was just about the only way it could've looked _less_ attractive on him.

"Percy!" Jason shouted. "The controls!"

I unfroze. I found Riptide in my pocket again, uncapped my sword, and lunged for the switchboard. I slashed my blade across the top, decapitating the controls in a shower of bronze sparks.

"No!" Ephialtes wailed. "You've ruined the spectacle!"

I turned too slowly. Ephialtes swung his spear like a bat and smacked me across the chest. I fell to my knees, the pain turning my stomach to lava.

Jason ran to my side, but Otis lumbered after him. I managed to rise and found myself shoulder to shoulder with Jason. Over the dais, Piper was still on the floor, unable to get up. Nico was barely conscious.

The giants were healing, getting stronger by the minute. I was not.

Ephialtes smiled apologetically. "Tired, Percy Jackson? As I said, you cannot kill us. S I guess we're at an impasse. Oh, wait . . . no we're not! Because we can kill you!"

"That," Otis grumbled, picking up his fallen spear, "is the first sensible thing you've said all day, brother."

The giants pointed their weapons, ready to turn me and Jason into a demigod-kabob.

"We won't give up," Jason growled. "We'll cut you into pieces like Jupiter did to Saturn."

"That's right," I said. "You're both dead. I don't care if we have a god on our side or not."

"Well, that's a shame," said a new voice.

To my right, another platform lowered from the ceiling. Leaning casually on a pinecone-topped staff was a man in a purple camp shirt, khaki shorts, and sandals with white socks. He raised his broad-brimmed hat, and purple fire flickered in his eyes. "I'd hate to think I made a special trip for nothing."


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Everything belongs to Rick Riordan

Chapter 5

Percy's POV

I had never thought of Mr. D as a calming influence, but suddenly everything got quiet. The machines ground to a halt. The wild animals stopped growling.

The two leopards paced over-still licking their lips from Piper's pot roast-and butted their heads affectionately at the god's legs. Mr. D scratched their ears.

"Really, Ephialtes," he chided. "Killing demigods is one thing. But using leopards for your spectacle? That's over the line."

The giant made a squeaking sound. "This-this is impossible. D-D-"

"It's Bacchus, actually, my old friend," said the god. "And of course it's possible. Someone told me there was a party going on."

He looked the same as he had in Kansas, but I still couldn't get over the differences between Bacchus and his old not-so-much-of-a-friend Mr. D.

Bacchus was meaner and leaner, with less of a potbelly. He had longer hair, more spring in his step, and a lot more anger in his eyes. He even managed to make a pinecone on a stick look intimidating.

Ephialtes' spear quivered. "You-you gods are doomed! Be gone, in the name Gaea!"

"Hmm." Bacchus sounded unimpressed. He strolled through the ruined props, platforms, and special effects.

"Tacky." He waved his hand at a painted wooden gladiator, then turned to a machine that looked like an oversized rolling pin studded with knives. "Cheap. Boring. And this is . . ." He inspected the rocket-launching contraption, which was still smoking. "Tacky, cheap, _and_ boring. Honestly, Ephialtes. You have no sense of style."

"STYLE?" The giant's face flushed. "I have MOUNTAINS of style. I _define_ style. I-I-"

"My brother _oozes_ style," Otis suggested.

"Thank you!" Ephialtes cried.

Bacchus stepped forward, and the giants stumbled back. "Have you two gotten shorter?" asked the god.

"Oh, that's low," Ephialtes growled. "I'm quite tall enough to destroy you, Bacchus! You gods, always hiding behind your mortal heroes, trusting the fate of Olympus to the likes of _these_.

He sneered at me.

Jason hefted his sword. "Lord Bacchus, are we going to kill these giants or what?"

"Well, I certainly hope so," Bacchus said. "Please, carry on."

I stared at him. "Didn't you come here to help?"

Bacchus shrugged. "Oh, I appreciated the sacrifice at sea. A whole ship full of Diet Coke. Very nice. Although I would've preferred Diet Pepsi."

"And six million in gold and jewels," I muttered.

"Yes," Bacchus said, "although with demigod parties of five or more the gratuity is included, so that wasn't necessary."

"What?"

"Never mind," Bacchus said. "At any rate, you got my attention. I'm here. Now I need to see if you're worthy of my help. Go ahead. Battle. If I'm impressed, I'll jump in for the grand finale."

"We speared one," I said. "Dropped the roof on the other. What do you consider impressive?"

"Ah, a good question . . ." Bacchus tapped his thyrsus. Then he smiled in a way that made me think, _Uh-oh_. "Perhaps you need inspiration! The stage hasn't been properly set. You call this spectacle, Ephialtes? Let me show you how it's done."

The god dissolved into purple mist. Piper and Nico disappeared.

"Pipes!" Jason yelled. "Bacchus, where did you-?

The entire floor rumbled and began to rise. The ceiling opened in a series of panels. Sunlight poured in. The air shimmered like a mirage, and I heard the roar of a crowd above me.

The hypogeum ascended through a forest of weathered stone columns, into the middle of a ruined coliseum.

My heart did a somersault. This wasn't just anu coliseum. It was _the_ Colosseum. The giants' special effects machines had gone into overtime, laying planks across ruined support beams so the arena had a proper floor again. The bleachers repaired themselves until the were gleaming white. A giant red-and-gold canopy extended overhead to provide shade from the afternoon sun. The emperor's box was draped with silk, flanked by banners and golden eagles. The roar of applause came from thousands of shimmering purple ghosts, the Lares of Rome brought back for an encore performance.

Vents opened in the floor and sprayed sand across the arena. Huge props sprang up-garage-size mountains of plaster, stone columns, and (for some reason) life-size plastic barnyard animals. A small lake appeared to one side. Ditches crisscrossed the arena floor in case anyone was on the mood for trench warfare. Jason and I stood together facing the twin giants.

"This is a proper show!" boomed the voice of Bacchus. He sat in the emperor's box wearing purple robes and golden laurels. At his left sat Nico and Piper's her shoulder being tended by a nymph in a nurse's uniform. I could tell that she was trying to convince the nymph not to use water. At Bacchus' right crouched a satyr, offering up Doritos and grapes. The god raised a can of Diet Pepsi and the crowd went respectfully quiet.

I glared up at him. "You're just going to _sit_ here?"

"The demigod is right!" Ephialtes belowed. "Fight us yourself, coward! Um, without the demigods."

Bacchus smiled lazily. "Juno says she's assembled a worthy crew of demigods. Show me. Entertain me, heroes of Olympus. Give me a reason to do more. Being a god has its privileges."

He popped his soda can top, and the crowd cheered.


	6. Chapter 6 Part 1

Disclaimer: Everything belongs to Rick Riordan

Chapter 6 Part 1

Percy's POV

I had fought many battles. He's even fought in a couple arenas, but nothing like this. In the huge Colosseum, with thousands of cheering ghosts, the god Bacchus staring down at him, and the two twelve-foot giants looming over him, I felt as small and insignificant as a bug. He also felt _very_ angry.

Fighting giants was one thing. Bacchus making it into a game was something else.

I remembered what Luke Castellan had told me years ago, when I had come back from his very first quest: _Didn't you realize how useless it all is? All the heroics-being pawns of the Olympians?_

I was almost the same age now as Luke ad been then. I could understand how Luke became so spiteful. In the past five years, I had been a pawn too many times. The Olympians seemed to take turns using him for their schemes.

Maybe the gods were better than the Titans, or the giants, or Gaea, but that didn't make them good or wise. It didn't make me like this stupid arena battle.

Unfortunately, he didn't have much choice. If I was going to save his friends, I had to beat these giants. I had to survive and find Annabeth.

Ephialtes and Otis made his decision easier by attacking. Together, the giants picked up a fake mountain as big as my New York apartment and hurled it at the demigods.

Jason and I bolted. We dove together into the nearest trench and the mountain shattered above us, spraying us with plaster shrapnel. It wasn't deadly, but it stung like crazy.

The crowd jeered and shouted for blood. " _Fight! Fight!_ "

"I'll take Otis again?" Jason called over the noise. "Or do you want him this time?"

I tried to think. Dividing was the natural course-fighting the giants one-on-one, but that hadn't worked so well last time. It dawned on me that we needed a different strategy.

This whole trip, I had felt responsible for leading and protecting my friends. I was sure Jason felt the same way. They'd worked in small groups, hoping that would be safer. They'd fought as individuals, each demigod doing what he or she did best. But Hera had made them a team of seven for a reason. The few times Jason and I worked together-summoning the storm at Fort Sumpter, helping the _Argo II_ escape the Pillars of Hercules, even filling the nymphaeum-I had felt more confident, better able to figure out problems, as if he's been a Cyclops his whole life and suddenly woke up with two eyes.

"We attack together," I said. "Otis first, because he's weaker. Take him out quickly and move to Ephialtes. Bronze and gold together-maybe that'll keep them from reforming a little longer."

Jason smiled dryly, like he'd just found out he would die in an embarrassing way.

"Why not?" he agreed. "But Ephialtes isn't going to stand there and wait while we kill his brother. Unless-"

"Good wind today," I offered. "And there're some water pipes running under the arena."

Jason understood immediately. He laughed, and I felt a spark of friendship. This guy thought the same he did about a lot of things.

"On three?" Jason said.

"Why wait?"

We charged out of the trench. As I suspected, the twins had lifted another plaster mountain and were waiting for a clear shot. The giants raised it above their heads, preparing to throw, and I caused a water pipe to burst at their feet, shaking the floor. Jason sent a blast of wind against Ephialtes' chest. The purple-haired giant toppled backward and Otis lost his grip on the mountain, which promptly collapsed on top of his brother. Only Ephialtes' snake feet stuck out, darting their heads around, as if wondering where the rest of their body had gone.

The crowd roared with approval, but I suspected Ephialtes was only stunned. We had a few seconds at best.

"Hey, Otis!" I shouted. " _The Nutcracker_ bites!"

"Ahhhhh!" Otis snatched up his spear and threw, but he was too angry to aim straight. Jason deflected it over my head and into the lake.

We backed toward the water, shouting insults about ballet-which was kind of a challenge, as I didn't know much about it.

Otis barreled toward us empty-handed, before apparently realizing a) he was empty-handed, and b) charging toward a large body of water to fight a son of Poseidon was maybe not a good idea.

Too late, he tried to stop. The demigods rolled to either side, and Jason summoned the wind, using the giant's own momentum to shove him into the water. As Otis struggled to rise, Jason and I attacked as one. We launched ourselves at the giant and brought our blades down on Otis's head.

The poor guy didn't even have a chance to pirouette. He exploded into powder on the lake's surface like a huge packet of drink mix.

I churned the lake into a whirlpool. Otis's essence tried to re-form, but as his head appeared from the water, Jason called lightning and blasted him to dust again.

So far so good, but we couldn't keep Otis down forever. I was already tired from my fight underground. My gut still ached from getting smacked with a spear shaft. I could feel my strength waning, and we still had another giant to deal with.

As if on cue, the plaster mountain exploded behind us. Ephialtes rose, bellowing with anger.

Jason and I waited as he lumbered toward us, his spear in hand. Apparently, getting flattened under a plaster mountain had only energized him. His eyes danced with murderous light. The afternoon sun glinted in his coin-braided hair. Even his snake feet looked angry, baring their fangs and hissing.

Jason called down another lightning strike, but Ephialtes caught it on his spear and deflected the blast, melting a life-size plastic cow. He slammed a stone column out of his way like a stack of building blocks.

I tried to keep the lake churning. I didn't want Otis rising to join this fight, but as Ephialtes closed the last few feet, I had to switch focus.

Jason and I met the giant's charge. We lunged around Ephialtes, stabbing and slashing in a blur of gold and bronze, but the giant parried with every strike.

"I will not yield!" Ephialtes roared. "You may have ruined my spectacle, but Gaea will still destroy your world!"

I lashed out, slicing the giant's spear in half. Ephialtes wasn't even fazed. The giant swept low with the blunt end and knocked me off my feet. I landed hard on my sword arm, and Riptide clattered out of my grip.

Jason tried to take advantage. He stepped inside the giant's guard and stabbed at his chest, but somehow Ephialtes parried the strike. He sliced the tip of his spear down Jason's chest, ripping his purple shirt into a vest. Jason stumbled, looking at the thin line of blood down his sternum. Ephialtes kicked him backward.

Up in the emperor's box, Piper cried out, but her voice was drowned in the roar of the crowd. Bacchus looked on with an amused smile, munching from a bag of doritos.

Ephialtes towered over Jason and me, both halves of his broken spear poised over their heads. My sword arm was numb. Jason's _gladius_ had skittered across the arena floor. Their plan had failed.

I glanced up at Bacchus, deciding what final curse I would hurl at the useless wine god, when I saw a shape in the sky above the Colosseum-a large dark oval descending rapidly.

From the lake, Otis yelled, trying to warn his brother, but his half-dissolved face could only manage: "Uh-umh-moooo!"

"Don't worry, brother!" Ephialtes said, his eyes still fixed on the demigods. "I will make them suffer!"

The _Argo II_ turned in the sky, presenting its port side, and green fire blazed from the ballista.

"Actually," I said. "Look behind you."

Jason and I rolled away as Ephialtes turned and bellowed in disbelief.

I dropped into a trench just as the explosion rocked the Colosseum.

When I climbed out again, the _Argo II_ was coming in for a landing. Jason poked his head out from behind his improvised bomb shelter of a plastic horse. Ephialtes lay charred and groaning on the arena floor, the sand around seared into a halo of glass by the heat of the Greek fire. Otis was floundering in the lake, trying to re-form, but from the arms down he looked like a puddle of burnt oatmeal.

I staggered over to Jason and clapped him on the shoulder. The ghostly crowd gave them a standing ovation as the _Argo II_ extended its landing gear and settled on the arena floor. Leo stood at the helm, Hazel and Frank grinning, pumping his fist in the air and yelling, "That's what I'm talking about!"

I turned to the emperor's box. "Well?" I yelled at Bacchus. "Was that entertaining enough for you, you wine-breathed little-"

"No need for that." Suddenly the god was standing right next to me in the arena. He brushed Dorito dust off his purple robes. "I have decided you are worthy partners for this combat."

"Partners?" Jason growled. "You did nothing!"

Bacchus walked to the edge of the lake. The water instantly drained, leaving an Otis-headed pile of mush. Bacchus picked his way to the bottom and looked up at the crowd. He raised his thyrsus.

The crowd jeered and hollered and pointed their thumbs down. I had never been sure whether that meant _live_ or _die_. I've heard it both ways.

Bacchus chose the more entertaining option. He smacked Otis's head with his pinecone staff, and the giant pile of Otismeal disintegrated completely.

The crowd went wild. Bacchus climbed out of the lake and strutted over to Ephialtes, who was still lying spread-eagled, overcooked and smoking.

Again, Bacchus raised his thyrsus.

"DO IT!" the crowd roared.

"DON'T DO IT!" Ephialtes wailed.

Bacchus tapped the giant on the nose, and Ephialtes crumbled to ashes.

The ghosts cheered and threw spectral confetti as Bacchus strode around the stadium with his arms raised triumphantly, exulting in the worship. He grinned at the demigods. " _That_ , my friends, is a show! And of _course_ I did something. I killed two giants!"

As my friends disembarked from the ship, the crowd of ghosts shimmered and disappeared. Piper and Nico struggled down the emperor's box as the Colosseum's magical renovations began to turn into mist. The arena floor remained solid, but otherwise the stadium looked as if it hadn't hosted a good giant killing eons.


	7. Chapter 6 Part 2

Disclaimer: Everything belongs to Rick Riordan.

Chapter 6 Part 2

Percy's POV

"Well," Bacchus said. "That was fun. You have my permission to continue your voyage."

"Your _permission_?" I snarled.

"Yes." Bacchus raised an eyebrow. "Although _your_ voyage may be a little harder than you expect, son of Neptune."

"Poseidon," I corrected him automatically. "What do you mean about _my_ voyage?"

"You might try the parking lot behind lot behind the Emmanuel Building," Bacchus said. "Best place to break through. Now, good-bye, my friends. And, ah, good luck with that other little matter."

The god vaporized in a cloud of mist that smelled faintly of grape juice. Jason ran to meet Piper and Nico.

Coach Hedge trotted up to me, with Hazel, Frank, and Leo close behind. "Was that Dionysus?" Hedge asked. "I love that guy!"

"You're alive!D" I said to the others. "The giants said you were captured. What happened?"

Leo shrugged. "Oh, just another brilliant plan by Leo Valdez. You'd be amazed what you can do with an Archimedes sphere, a girl who can sense stuff ground, and a weasel."

"I was the weasel," Frank said glumly.

"Basically," Leo explained, "I activated a hydraulic screw with the Archimedes device-which is going to be _awesome_ once I install it in the ship, by the way. Hazel sensed the easiest path to drill to the surface. We made a tunnel big enough for a weasel, and Frank climbed up with a simple transmitter that I slapped together. After that, it was just a matter of hacking into Coach Hedge's favorite satellite channels and telling him to bring the ship around to rescue us. After he got us, finding you was easy, thanks to that godly light show at the Colosseum."

I understood about ten percent of Leo's story, but he decided it was enough since he had a more pressing question. "Where's Annabeth?"

Leo winced. "Yeah, about that . . . she's still in trouble, we think. Hurt, broken leg, maybe-at least according to this vision Gaea showed us. Rescuing her is our next stop."

Two second before, I had been ready to collapse. Now another surge of adrenaline coursed through his body.m He wanted to strangle Leo and demand why the _Argo II_ hadn't sailed off to rescue Annabeth first, but he thought that might sound a little ungrateful.

"Tell me about the vision," he said. "Tell me everything."

The floor shook. The wooden planks began to disappear, spilling sand into the pits of the hypogeum below.

"Let's talk on board," Hazel suggested. "We'd better take off while we still can."

We sailed out of the Colosseum and veered south over the rooftops of Rome.

All around the Piazza del Colosseo, traffic had come to a standstill. A crowd of mortals had gathered, probably wondering about the strange lights and sounds that had come from the ruins. As far as I could see, none of the giants' spectacular plans for destruction had come off successfully. The city looked the same as before. No one seemed to notice the huge Greek trireme rising into the sky.

We gathered around the helm. Jason bandaged Piper's sprained shoulder while Hazel sat at the stern, feeding Nico ambrosia. The son of Hades had to lean in whenever he spoke.

Frank and Leo recounted what had happened in the room with the Archimedes spheres, and the visions Gaea had shown them in the bronze mirror. We quickly decided that our best lead of finding Annabeth was the cryptic advice Bacchus had provided: the Emmanuel Building, whatever that was. Frank started typing at the helm's computer while Leo tapped furiously at his controls, muttering, "Emmanuel Building. Emmanuel Building." Coach Hedge tried to help by wrestling with an upside-down street map of Rome.

I knelt down to Jason and Piper. "How's the shoulder?"

Piper smiled. "It'll heal. Both of you did great."

Jason elbowed me. "Not a bad team, you and me."

"Better than jousting in Kansas cornfield," I agreed.

"There it is!" Leo cried, pointing to his monitor. "Frank, you're amazing! I'm setting course."

Frank hunched his shoulders. "I just read the name off the screen. Some Chinese tourist marked it on Google Maps."

Leo grinned at the others. "He reads Chinese."

"Just a tiny bit," Frank said.

"How cool is that?"

"Guys," Hazel broke in. "I hate to interrupt your admiration session, but you should hear this."

She helped Nico to his feet. He'd always been pale, but now his skin looked like powdered milk. His dark sunken eyes reminded me of photos he'd seen of liberated prisoners-of-war, which I guessed Nico basically was.

"Thank you," Nico rasped. His eyes darted nervously around the group. "I'd given up hope."

The past week or so, I had imagined a lot of scathing things I would say to Nico when we met again, but the guy looked so frail and sad, I couldn't muster much anger.

"You knew about the two camps all along," I said. "You could have told me who I was the first day I arrived at Camp Jupiter, but you didn't."

Nico slumped against the helm. "Percy, I;m sorry. I discovered Camp Jupiter last year. My dad led me there, though I wasn't sure why. He told me the gods had hapt the camps separate for centuries and that I couldn't tell anyone. This time wasn't right. But he said it would be important for me to know . . ." He doubled over in a fit of coughing.

Hazel held his shoulders until he could stand again.

"I-I thought Dad meant because of Hazel," Nico continued. "I'd need a safe place to take her. But now . . . I think he wanted me to know about both camps so I'd understand how important your quest was, and so I'd search for the Doors of Death."

The air turned electric-literally, as Jason started throwing off sparks.

"Did you find the doors?" I asked.

Nico nodded. "I was a fool. I thought I could go anywhere in the Underworld, but I walked right into Gaea's trap. I might as well have tried running from a black hole."

"Um . . ." Frank chewed his lip. "What kind of black hole are you talking about?"

Nico started to speak, but whatever he needed to say must have been too terrifying. He turned to Hazel.

She put her hand on her brother's arm. "Nico told me that the Doors of Death have two sides-one in the mortal world, one in the Underworld. The _mortal_ side of the portal is in Greece. It's heavily guarded by Gaea's forces. That's where they brought Nico back into the upper world. Then they transported him to Rome."

Piper must've been nervous, because her cornucopia spit out a cheeseburger. "Where exactly in Greece is this doorway?"

Nico took a rattling breath. "The House of Hades. It's an underground temple in Epirus. I can mark it on a map, but-but the mortal side of the porta isn't the problem. In the Underworld, the Doors of Death are in . . . in . . ."

A cold pair of hands did the itsy-bitsy spider down my back.

 _A block hole_. An inescapable part of the Underworld where even Nico di Angelo couldn't go. Why hadn't I thought of this before? I'd been to the very edge of that place. I still had nightmares about it.

"Tartarus," I guessed. "The deepest part of the Underworld."

Nico nodded. "They pulled into the pit, Percy. The things I saw down there . . ." His voice broke.

Hazel pursed her lips. "No mortal has ever been to Tartarus," she explained. "At least, no one has ever gone in and returned alive. It's maximum-security prison of Hades, where the old Titans and the other enemies of the gods are bound. It's where all the monsters go when they die on the earth. It's . . . well, no one knows exactly what it's like."

Her eyes drifted to her brother. The rest of her thought didn't need to be spoken: _No one except Nico._

Hazel handed him his black sword.

Nico landed on it like it was an old man's cane. "Now I understand why Hades hasn't been able to close the doors," he said. "Even the gods don't go into Tartarus. Even the god of death, Thanatos himself, wouldn't go near that place."

Leo glanced over from the wheel.m"So let me guess. We'll have to go there."

Nico shook his head. "It's impossible. I'm the son of Hades, and even I barely survived. Gaea's forces overwhelmed me instantly. They're so powerful down there . . . no demigod would stand a chance. I almost went insane."

Nico's eyes looked like shattered glass. I wondered sadly if something inside him had broken permanently.

"Then we'll sail for Epirus," I said. "We'll just close the gates on this side."

"I wish it were that easy," Nico said. "The doors would have to be controlled on both sides to be closed. It's like a double seal. Maybe, just maybe, all seven of you working together could defeat Gaea's forces on the mortal side, at the House of Hades. But unless you had a team fighting simultaneously on the Tartarus side, a team powerful enough to defeat a legion of monsters in their home territory-"

"There has to be a way," Jason said.

Nobody volunteered any brilliant ideas.

I thought my stomach was sinking. Then I realized the entire ship was descending toward a big building like a palace.

 _Annabeth_. Nico's news was so horrible I had momentarily forgotten she was still in danger, which made me feel incredibly guilty.

"We'll figure out the Tartarus problem later," I said. "Is that the Emmanuel Building?"

Leo nodded. "Bacchus said something about the parking lot in back? Well, there it is. What now?"

I remembered my dream of the dark chamber, the evil buzzing voice of the monster called Her Ladyship. I remembered how shaken Annabeth had looked when she'd come back from Fort Sumter after her encounter with the spiders. I had begun to suspect what might be down in that shrine . . . literally, the mother of all spiders. If I was right, Annabeth had been trapped down there alone with that creature for hours, her leg broken . . . At this point, I didn't care if her quest was supposed to be solo or not.

"We have to get her out," I said.

"Well, yeah," Leo agree. "But, uh . . ."

I looked like he wanted to say, _What if we're too late?_

Wisely, I changed tack. "There's a parking lot in the way."

I looked at Coach Hedge. "Bacchus said something about _breaking through_. Coach, you still have ammo for those ballistae?"

The satyr grinned like a wild goat. "I thought you'd never ask."

Piper's POV

Wow, that was a lot of information. This is really scaring me. I also know that I have to tell the gang of my mermaid secret.

But how will I tell them? They'll probably feel betrayed. They'll probably never forgive me.

 _But Jason and Percy forgave you_ , said a voice in my head.

I don't know what to do.

When everyone scattered, Jason pulled me aside.

"When are you going to tell them?" He asks me.

"What are you talking about?" I asked sarcastically, hoping he would walk away.

"Come on, Piper. Don't act stupid," He said.

"I don't know, Jason. What if they never forgive me?" I asked.

He looked at me with a bit of pity. "They will," he promised me. He leaned down and kissed my forehead.

"We should probably go," I say.

"Yeah," he wrapped his arm around my waist and we joined the others.


End file.
